I Want You To Want Me
by darkness3
Summary: Some friends are good, others.... (Ruthie/Robbie)*part2 uploaded* *COMPLETE*
1. 1st part

Disclaimer: Nothing's mine. Not even the title (it's a song by letters to Cleo) Title: I Want You To Want Me Summary: Some friends are good, others...... Note: Hola!! Please tell me what you think!! BTW, that's a Robbie/Ruthie fic, so....  
  
  
  
Part 1  
  
Ruthie was sitting in front of the house, watching the sun disappear. She could hear her parents talking through the half open kitchen window. She didn't quite understand what they were saying but she wasn't interested in their conservation anyway. The thirteen-year-old softly hummed a song and enjoyed the last sunrays on her skin. It seemed to be a peaceful evening for her siblings all weren't home. Matt, Simon and Robbie were out doing 'men-stuff', Mary was at the library and Lucy had a date. Sam and David, the babies of the Camden-family had been put to bed half an hour ago.  
  
Ruthie felt a cold breeze and shivered slightly. She stretched her long legs before she brought them close to her body and put her arms around them.  
  
"It's a bit chilly, isn't it?" The young girl looked up and was greeted by a small smile and soft brown eyes.  
  
"Hi, I'm Ann." The other girl put her bike away and sat down at the porch, next to Ruthie who looked at her curiously. Ann seemed to be about Simon's age and had put her light brown hair up at the back of her head. Only a few strands framed her face and fell down at her shoulders.  
  
"I'm Ruthie."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
The girl looked in the mirror one last time before she bounced down the stairs. In the kitchen she found her sister Lucy and her mother taking care of the twins. Ruthie grabbed her purse and turned around. She flashed Annie a big smile. "Hi Mum, bye Mum!" She already was half out the door when her mother stopped her.  
  
"Where do you think you are going?" Ruthie closed the door again, rolled her eyes and sighed. Then she finally turned around to look at her mother who was fighting with Sam's dinner. "I told you, I'm going to the cinema with Ann. And yes, I did my homework and I'll be back by nine."  
  
"You know I don't like it when you go out during the week. What do Ann's parents say about that anyway? And aren't you with her way too often?"  
  
"Muuuum!" Lucy heard the annoyance in her sister's tone and raised her eyebrows, causing Ruthie to ramble on. "Ann is my friend and she doesn't need to ask her parents, she's seventeen." As soon as she said it, she knew that it had been a bad mistake.  
  
"Seventeen?!? You tell me that you want to go out during the week with a girl that is four years older than you are? No way, young lady!" Annie had finally given up fighting with Sam and was now starring at her youngest daughter angrily. Ruthie looked down and started toying with a small silver ring at her left hand. It had been a Christmas present from Robbie and she had never put it off since then.  
  
"Oh come on Mum, it's not like I'm going on a date or something." That was the moment Eric chose to enter the kitchen. He put his bag down, kissed his wife and patted David's head lovingly. Then he turned around to look at Ruthie. "Who's going on a date?"  
  
"No one is. I just want to go to the cinema with Ann." Eric opened his mouth and was about to say something when Annie interrupted him. "Yes with Ann, a seventeen-year-old girl." The reverend looked at his wife and then at his daughter again. "Seventeen?"  
  
Ruthie sighed and kicked the counter with her right foot. "We have been hanging out for weeks now and you never had anything against it."  
  
"That's because you never mentioned that your new friend is four years older than you. I guess you forgot, huh?" Annie glared at her angrily. "I guess that's why you never brought her to have dinner with us."  
  
Lucy, who tried to stop the twins throwing their foot at each other decided that it was time to leave the room. "I'll bring them to bed." And with that she grabbed her baby brothers and went upstairs. There she tugged them in and tried to ignore her mother's loud voice.  
  
Downstairs in the kitchen Eric watched the argument. It his opinion it was ridiculous. But Annie had been a bit stressed lately and Ruthie was an emotional teenager and so one was as stubborn as the other. When he feared that Annie would soon start to scream at their daughter he interrupted.  
  
"What do you think if you cancel the movies for today and Ann stays for dinner. This way we get to know her and we can think about giving you permission to go out with her next time."  
  
Ruthie took a deep breath and folded her arms in front of her. "Fine!" Then the doorbell rang and she stormed off. Eric was satisfied with himself but Annie shot him an angry look. He sighed and looked up at the ceiling, silently asking God why women were always so difficult.  
  
Ann greeted Ruthie at the door with a hug and a big smile. But all she got back was an awkward smile and a "Hey!" She raised her eyebrows. "Hey yourself. What's wrong, I thought we are going to watch Tom Cruise's new film?" The younger girl rolled her eyes and sighed.  
  
"Change of plan, my parents don't want me to go out tonight but you can stay for dinner."  
  
Ann looked at her and then shrugged. "Okay."  
  
"Great, the kitchen is over there, I'll just go, call my brothers and sisters." Ruthie shot her friend a wide smile and ran upstairs to the girls room where she found Marry reading a magazine. "Dinner!" She ran down and knocked at Matt's and Robbie's door but the room was empty. She called Simon and was down in the kitchen minutes after she had opened the door. She didn't want her father to be alone with her new friend longer than necessary.  
  
Meanwhile Ann had entered the kitchen and introduced herself to Eric and Annie. She pretended that she didn't see their curious looks and then turned around to greet Robbie and Matt who were setting the table. While Ruthie's eldest brother wasn't very interested in her Robbie shot her a smile.  
  
"So you are Ruthie's new friend? She talks about you a lot." That comment made Ann smile and Annie and Eric raising their eyebrows. They didn't like that Ruthie hadn't talked to them about the girl and the knowledge that Robbie seemed to know much more worried them.  
  
Soon everyone except Lucy and the twins was seated around the big table. The reverend couldn't stop asking their guest one thing after the other while Simon starred at the girl openly. Matt kicked him under the table several times but he didn't seem to notice. Robbie, who knew what was going on, shook his head in amusement.  
  
"And don't you think that four years is a bit much?"  
  
"DAD!"  
  
Ann smiled. "Probably. But I just don't get along with the boys and girls my age. Their heads are full of bad ideas like alcohol and cigarettes. And I don't really need that. I always had friends who were younger or older than me. My first boyfriend was fifteen while I was thirteen."  
  
With that it got silent for a while until Annie spoke again.  
  
"That's a nice necklace you have there."  
  
Ann touched the small gold cross and smiled. "Thanks, I have it since I was a little kid. My father gave it to me when I was a baby."  
  
"Your earrings are quite nice as well."  
  
"Oh you mean the David's stars? (AN: I have no clue if that's the right English word, sorry) I got it from my grandfather, he's Jewish." And then everyone was silent again. Eric put his bread down and shook his head. Ruthie saw that he was up to something but she couldn't do anything to stop him.  
  
"I don't remember seeing you at the church."  
  
"DAD!" Ruthie glared at her father, her eyes wide. Why did she have to have such, such .......parents!! Her father just wanted to point out that Ann didn't go to church. And? There were quite some people who weren't going, no big deal.  
  
Ann smiled at Ruthie reassuringly. "Of course you don't. That's because I've never been there. You see, I'm Catholic. My parents live in Ireland, and now I'm staying with my grandfather. Actually it's quite funny, he goes to the Synagogue on Saturday, Sandra, who helps us doing the housework goes to your church Sunday morning and I go to a Catholic church Sunday evening."  
  
A big smile spread across Ruthie's face and Robbie saw a glimpse of triumph in her eyes. Now her father couldn't say anything against Ann. She leant back and enjoyed the rest of the meal.  
  
Later that night when Annie and Eric went to bed they talked about Ann. "Annie, love, she seems to be a really nice girl. She's probably a bit older than Ruthie but I don't think that she has a bad influence on her."  
  
His wife turned around and he could see doubt in her eyes. "Eric, I have a really bad feeling about this." "Oh Annie, I...." She stopped him by putting her arm up. "It's okay, I won't say anything. But don't say that I haven't warned you."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
FOUR YEARS LATER:  
  
It was dark night and Ruthie looked in the mirror one last time before she carefully went down the stairs to the living room. She looked around, her eyes slowly scanning over the photos on the wall. There was one of Lucy in her wedding gown and another one of Matt's baby girl Kirsten. But Ruthies eyes went on to a picture of the whole family, taken years ago in front of the house.  
  
Eric, Matt, Mary, Annie, Robbie, Lucy, Simon, the twins and herself. She quickly pulled the photo out of it's frame and put it in her bag. Then she smiled before she went to the door, turned around one last time and disappeared.  
  
Outside a car was waiting for her and Ann waved at her. She jumped into the car and smiled at her friend. "Finally free!!!" The other girl laughed and started the engine. They went off.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
TBC 


	2. 2nd part

Note: Thank you for all the reviews. Here is the second and last part of my fic. I hope you like it.  
  
  
  
Part 2  
  
Robbie looked around the room, his gaze stopping at an empty picture frame. It had been five years. Five years since Ruthie had left the Camdens. Without a word she had gone off with this girl.  
He hadn't been there when Annie had discovered the empty bed but as soon as they had called him he had been on his way to Glenoak. They had went to the police, had put up flyers but Ruthie seemed to have disappeared.  
  
She hadn't left a note and her parents waited for a letter but it never came. Until now. Now Robbie was back in Glenoak because of a Canadian postcard. He took it out of his jeans pocket and looked at it once again. She hadn't written much, just "Hey, I hope you are alright. Say hi to everyone from me. Love, Ruthie."  
  
Canada. But Robbie wasn't dumb he had looked at the card closely and had discovered that it had actually been sent from Seattle. And now he wanted to go there. He didn't have to think about it twice. He was going to get Ruthie to come back if..... when he found her. He just wanted to see Annie and Eric one last time before he went. He didn't want to tell them about the card, because he didn't want them to get their hopes up but he wanted to say goodbye to them.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
At first it had seemed to be hopeless. Seattle was such a big city, to think that he could find her there had been foolish. But then he somehow had gotten this address. It wasn't much, just an address.  
  
Ann O'Reiley  
Euklid 15  
Seattle  
  
It was the last thing he could do. Then he would have to go back home. Robbie didn't have any money left and he already had been in Seattle for over a month. Could it really have been that long? He wasn't even sure if she still was in there but he simply didn't want to give up. Getting her back was all he wanted and this was his last hope: Ann O'Reiley, Euklid 15, Seattle, the building in front of him.  
  
It was a bar and he could hear loud music coming from inside. The people were all flushed and smelled like alcohol and cigarettes. Robbie passed them without a second glance and made his way towards the counter. There he asked the barkeeper for a beer.  
  
Filling his glass the man looked at him closely.  
"You new here? I've never seen you before."  
  
Robbie looked around and tried to spot Ann or Ruthie but when he didn't see them he turned around again.  
  
"Actually I'm looking for a girl called Ann O'Reiley and her friend Ruthie."  
  
The man frowned and looked at Robbie suspiciously. "Why?"  
  
Right then a young woman stopped next to them and leaned onto the counter. Her light brown hair was put up at the back of her head and she wore a glitter top and jeans that were as tight as possible.  
  
"Bill, do you need more Whiskey?" The barkeeper, Bill, didn't answer. Instead he handed her a glass of water and she sat down on a chair next to Robbie.  
  
"Thanks." Then she turned around and Robbie saw her face for the first time. She also noticed him and stopped dead in tracks. It took her several seconds to recover but then she smiled. "Hello."  
  
"Ann! Where's Ruthie? Please tell me that she's here."  
  
The girl laughed and looked down at the floor. "She is."  
Robbie's eyes lit up and he looked around eagerly. "Where?"  
  
Ann watched him from the corner of her eyes and sighed inwardly. "You can't talk to her right now, she has...uh... is busy....."  
  
"Damn Ann, I want to see her! Tell me where she is!"  
The young woman shrugged her shoulders and turned around. Then she pointed at the stage. "You'll see her really soon, promise."  
  
A soft song started playing and Robbie saw a someone climbing onto the stage. The girl wore a short purple dress and a small black jacket. Her silky hair fell softly down her back and she waved at her audience before she started to sing.  
"Ruthie." It was a whisper, barely audible and made Ann shiver. She tried to ignore the way Robbie looked at her friend and she pretended that she hadn't notice how tense he was. It made her feel guilty and she just didn't want to admit it.  
  
So she changed the topic, pushing the nagging feeling inside her stomach away.  
"How did you find us?"  
He handed her the card still starring at Ruthie. "I got this two month ago, and I'm here to ask her why she did it."  
Ann looked down and started drawing little circled on the counter. She already knew the answer but she just didn't want to think about it, neither wanted she to say something about it.  
After a while Robbie continued, "I can't imagine that she really thought that I'd fall for the trick with the Canadian card."  
  
That was when the girl finally opened her mouth. "She didn't."  
He looked at her surprised. "She didn't?"  
Ann shook her head. "I think she wanted to be found."  
  
Robbie was silent for a while and Ann asked herself if she had said something wrong. The guilt was growing inside her and she just couldn't hide it anymore.  
"It's all my fault. I should have never made her come with me. What kind of a friend am I? She belongs with her family! She needs them."  
  
Robbie put a hand on her shoulder, trying to comfort her. But he still didn't really understand everything. "If she wants to come home, why doesn't she just do that?"  
Ann shrugged, "I guess she just doesn't want to admit that she made a mistake. And she is afraid that they won't take her back."  
  
"That's crazy! They love her and they are worried as hell." His eyes went back to the young woman on the stage. She sang beautifully, with a special kind of smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. But Robbie could still see his little friend, the one whom he called "Snookie" and the one who had always known everything. But now there was something else, he just couldn't name it.  
  
The postcard was lying on the counter where Ann had placed it. He took it and put it back into his pocket.  
  
"Why me? Me of all people? I never was good at handling difficult situations. She should have written to Matt or Lucy - she's a reverend herself now, you know?"  
He helplessly looked at Ann, begging for support.  
  
All he got was a grin. "Ruthie is a clever girl. She knows what she's doing. Or do you think Matt or Lucy, Mary or one of the others would have come to Seattle? They would have told their parents and they'd all be in Canada by now.  
  
Besides, for her, it always was about you. She trusts you more than she trusts anyone..... even me. Nobody knows why....... She doesn't belong here, you should take her with you."  
  
With that Ann jumped to her feet and left him without another glance. Even though she had her back turned towards him she tried to keep her face blank. She wasn't weak, she wouldn't let anyone know how much she was going to miss her best friend.  
  
Watching her retreating form Robbie heard Ruthie finishing the song. So he turned around and walked towards the stage. There he waited for her to come down the stairs. Not seeing him , she was about to make her way through the crowd when an arm grabbed her and made her whirl around.  
  
Pure shock was written all over her face as she saw him. She let him drag her along to a quiet corner where they sat down.  
"I didn't expect you to be here so soon."  
  
Robbie looked at her in amazement. Wow, that had been a quick recovery.  
"Soon? It took me over a month to find you."  
  
"Well, what can I say? I'm smart, I know how to hide. Or at least I thought so."  
He shook his head, not believing her words.  
  
"Well, you were smart enough to make me find you. You can't fool me Ruthie. Remember, it's me!" He still tried to figure out what was odd about the girl in front of him. She was hiding behind the facade of the 11-year-old girl she once had been.  
  
Raising her eyebrows she said in a high pitched voice, "So what? It's you, why should I care?"  
Robbie was irritated by her change of attitude.  
  
"It's been five years. A lot has happened, you know?"  
Then he finally realized it. She had grown up, that was what bothered him. He couldn't treat her like a little girl anymore. That confused him. She always had been his little mate, but now..... now was different.  
  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"I'm nervous as hell!" They had arrived at the Camden-house half an hour ago but she couldn't get herself to get out of the car. Her hands were shaking and her palms sweating.  
  
Robbie squeezed her shoulder lovingly as he smiled at her. "They'll be more than glad to see you again, so come on." He opened the door and then went around the car to open hers as well. She slowly got up. Together they went up to the front door where she grabbed his arm and made him stop again.  
  
"It's Thanksgiving. They'll all be here, won't they?" Robbie nodded and took her hand and in his.  
  
"I won't pretend that it's going to be easy Ruthie. But I promise that I'll be there for you." He smiled and kissed her softly. His hands were gently caressing her back, soothing the thin fabric.  
  
"They won't take that...us.... too well either."  
He gave her one last squeeze before he released her from his arms. "We'll manage." He tried to act confident but in reality he was really worried. They hadn't like it when he was dating Mary, they nearly flamed him when he was seeing Lucy and now, that he was with Ruthie....  
  
"So let's get that b*tch over with." She knocked at the door carefully and soon they heard someone coming to open it. Moments before the key was turned the girl looked at Robbie. "I love you."  
  
Lucy swung the door open. Her eyes widened as she saw her little sister.  
"Ruthie!!!" She immediately hugged her sister tightly before shouting back into the house. "Mum!! Dad! Ruthie is here!"  
  
Robbie watched as the whole family came to the door to embrace their-long-lost sister, his new found love. Somehow he was glad they didn't know that yet.  
  
But his girl was finally happy and he was determined to keep it that way.  
Catching Ruthie's glistering eyes over Simon's shoulder he smiled.  
  
"I love you too."  
  
~ the end ~  
  
  
Final Note: I once promised myself that I'd never finish a fic with the words "I love you". I don't really like it....  
Anyway, is someone going to write a Robbie/Ruthie fic?? Please? Please? Well, if you do, e-mail me at lucia_at2001@yahoo.de 


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